Petrone scores 5 TDs as East Stroudsburg South earns D-11 bid

Niko Petrone had his fourth 200-yard game in five weeks, rushing for 254 yards and five touchdowns as East Stroudsburg South secured a District 11 playoff berth with a convincing 41-12 victory over East Stroudsburg North on Monday night in the Purple Pit.

EAST STROUDSBURG — East Stroudsburg South's defense kept the Cavaliers in the game.

Then the Cavaliers' offense went out and won it.

Niko Petrone had his fourth 200-yard game in five weeks, rushing for 254 yards and five touchdowns as Eastburg South secured a District 11 playoff berth with a convincing 41-12 victory over East Stroudsburg North on Monday night in the Purple Pit.

Petrone was spectacular, especially in the second half where he scored four of his five touchdowns. But it was the play of the Cavaliers' defense, a unit that is finally healthy and back together after an embarrassing loss at Lehighton a few weeks ago, that made plays at key times.

The Cavs bent but didn't break, forcing a fumble on Eastburg North's first drive and turning the Timberwolves away on a fourth-and-3 at the South 13 in the second quarter, to set the tone.

"We did a few things that we haven't been doing," ES South coach Ed Christian said. "We played all four quarters. We haven't done that since the first game of the year. I thought we had a real good game plan. With the exception of a couple runs in the first quarter, I thought we had a great game plan, and the kids stopped them on third down. The kids stopped them on fourth down. We intercepted the ball, nobody ran free."

And the Cavaliers have landed in the district playoffs where they will be the No. 8 seed and play at No. 1 Scranton on Saturday night.

The game was postponed from Friday night because of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

The Cavs led just 13-6 at the half, but scored on four straight possessions to start the second half. The fifth possession featured the second team in the final minute.

South quarterback Tyler McLaughlin opened the second half with what looked like a broken play. He went 53 yards to the North 30 — it was that kind of half for the Cavaliers who did nothing wrong. By the end of the third quarter, a six-point ES South lead exploded to a 34-6 game.

Petrone scored on touchdown runs of 2, 26, 83 and 2 in the second half alone. His most impressive run may have been the 83 yarder on a toss left, showing off his speed down the home sideline.

"He's a player," Christian said of his running back. "I guess he's the straw that stirs the drink."

Eastburg North's backs had their yards too. David Allbaugh finished with 208 yards on 15 carries, but appeared to have injured himself in the fourth quarter and did not return. QB Lorenzo Melchiorre added 127 and a touchdown, while Abdul Murphy had 160 yards rushing and a TD.

North's run defense, which has stood tall most of the year couldn't stop Petrone, who helped South avenge its only loss to North (39-6) a year ago. North will play Nazareth in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

South, on the other hand, heads into districts feeling very good about itself, but faces a very talented and unbeaten Scranton team.

"They have a very good quarterback and receiver, that's right," Christian said. "They play hard. We've been telling the kids all year long, 'When you play the better teams, every team is going to have a runner. Every team is going to have a decent line,' so this is no different."